Only 5000 boxes were made, harvested from the best tobacco of the 2003 crop, the Gran Reserva signifies the best possible product from Cuba. Here’s more about this special smoke: Habanos Press release. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to smoke a cigar of this magnitude, even at nearly a dollar per millimeter of tobacco.

As I take it out of my trunk humidor, I can’t help buy notice how unassuming it is. The wrapper looks like any other Habano, light brown and thin with very little visible veins – just a little more red in color. I expected it to be more hefty than it is, most Cohibas are packed very tightly, but not this one. Upon clipping it, I notice the pre-light draw is very easy – different from most Sig VIs.

I toast the foot and begin to draw in the best that Cuba has to offer.

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Here’s the list as it stands. It’s quite impressive already, and this is before the IPCPR! Some are still unconfirmed and/or holdovers from last year’s list.

2010

90 Miles – This new line from the folks at Flor de Gonzalez will come in 4 sizes with an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper. The name refers to the distance between Cuba and Key West.

Alec Bradley Mudial – no info yet.

Andiamo – a new line with two different wrappers from the folks who brought you La Perla Habana and Black Pearl.

Aurora 107 – this new blend is dedicating the 107th (?) anniversary of the La Aurora line.

Camacho Plus – a more novice-accessible Camacho. Press. Haven’t heard much more about this, not sure if it’s still coming out.

Cohiba Behike “BK” – a new three-size line from Habanos but not as limited as the original Cohiba Behike. Info here. Take a loan out on the house to pay for these bad boys…

Davidoff Puro d’Oro – the long awaited and delayed Dominican puro from the Master Henke Kelner.

El Triunfador – Once a secret release LE cigar from cigar-star Pete Johnson, this will now be available in six sizes with a Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Great flavor w/ a medium body, this my favorite line from Pete to date!

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Please check out my buddy Matt’s fundraiser for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Donations go to this cause and enter you in a raffle to win a box of Opus X Love Affairs! Click on the link below for all of the details.

I was lucky enough to receive a pre-release sample of the new Avo “birthday” cigar, the LE10. This year, they made a monster of a cigar, a chunky 55 ring gauge behemoth, where all of the filler is Dominican Ligero! This came via my new best friend, Eddie Simon, Brand Manager for Avo. Thanks, Eddie. I also got a few other goodies that I’ll review soon. After my experience with the Davidoff Selecionne 702 last year, I couldn’t wait to fire this up.

I’m a huge fan of Ecuadorian wrappers, and this one is a beaut. It’s dark and oily, if it tastes as great as it looks, I’m in for treat.

Santiago, DR…12 March 2010…As with their very successful Preferidos, Cien Años and 1495, La Aurora has taken their time in the next step in their 107 year history as Dominican’s oldest cigar maker.

“We had defined our goal early on,” said Guillermo Leon, La Aurora VP, “and that was to bring the smokers a medium bodied, richly flavoured smoke with a fair amount of spice – at a very attractive price.”

Using Dominican, Nicaraguan and Ecuadorian tobaccos, the blending process went through dozens of iterations before achieving a cigar that brings a balanced flavour that is peppery, sweet and provides toasty notes.

The Antano! One of the most powerful cigars on the market. I n fact for many years it was THE most powerful cigar around. Here’s some info from the manufacturer:

Antaño in Spanish means “yesteryear” a name that is a tribute to the Joya de Nicaragua cigar of the 70’s when the brand became one of the favorite smokes in the US market.

This is a full bodied cigar, made totally by hand with 100% Nicaraguan tobacco. The filler, binder and wrapper are Havana Criollo seed grown in Nicaragua. The shiny Colorado wrapper and the complexity of the blend give a very distinctive personality to this cigar, created to satisfy the most exigent smoker who looks for a strong cigar, rich in taste and aroma. Introduced in 2002, Antaño actually is one of the favorite cigars in the American Market and is a symbol of the true Nicaraguan puro. [Source: joyadenicaragua.com.ni]

I’m not normally a fan of big ring gauge cigars, but there is something special about the Gran Consul that sets it apart from the smaller sizes in the Antano line.

This beefy cigar is very oily looking and has a nice dull point to the torpedo end. The cigar clips easy and the pre-light draw is very easy; but not due to being under-filled as this cigar is very densely rolled.